The assimilation of a new culture that is hostile to the one that feels like home threatens psychological integration, the internal process of layering new experiences on top of old ones. Linking old and new experiences creates an ongoing evolution of personal meaning—where I’ve been, who I am, what I can expect, or hope for, in the future—of one’s own story in life. If you take the basic differences between these cultures, stir in the unchallenged assumption that the “new” culture is far superior, and fold in our cherished national myth of equality of opportunity, you have an excellent recipe
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